Launch of new funding programme to address social exclusion in North Yorkshire

Thirsk and Sowerby Town Hall will see over 100 people representing organisations from the voluntary and community sector come together for the launch of the Innovation Fund on Wednesday 11 June 2014 from 2pm.

Funded by North Yorkshire County Council’s Health and Adult Services Directorate, NHS Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven Clinical Commissioning Group and Craven District Council, the Innovation Fund is aimed at supporting the transformation of Health and Adult Social Care in North Yorkshire.

The Fund aims to address 3 main themes:

1. Reducing Loneliness and Isolation
2. Prevention of Falls
3. Supporting people to remain in their own homes

The Innovation Fund will support projects to work with residents who have a higher than average chance of experiencing one of the themes.
The overall funding pot is worth £954,974 with £450,000 allocated for the first round of delivery across North Yorkshire. The programme is open to community and voluntary organisations that deliver across the county and will be project managed by Your Consortium on behalf of the council.

Your Consortium is an enterprise based in Knaresborough that aims to improve the lives of individuals and communities through enabling delivery of a wide range of high quality services to build a robust social economy.

By prioritising areas for transformation within adult social care, the fund will enable voluntary and community organisations to provide innovative approaches to early intervention and/or prevention projects. In the Craven area, there will be a specific focus on addressing fuel poverty and preventing winter deaths along with a focus the three main themes.

Through the Innovation Fund the voluntary sector has an opportunity to develop services that enable individuals to become less reliant on NYCC and health services, by providing early intervention and prevention and reducing the need for referral to statutory agencies.

Sue Vasey CEO of Your Consortium: We are really excited to be offering the voluntary and community sector funding support to develop approaches to the challenges faced in communities across North Yorkshire.

Our experience working with voluntary and community partners over the last seven years has shown that the sector is well able to deliver targeted, cost effective work and to find innovative approaches to project and partnership working.

I’m so glad to see so many organisations connecting with the challenge and coming to the launch.

Councillor Don Mackenzie said: I am delighted that NYCC has been able to create a fund, which continues to be used to invest in our local communities.

We have chosen Your Consortium as our partners in the management of the Fund on account of their proven expertise in supporting community groups to develop innovative services.

The Council is using this investment as a key part of its wider drive to help people to maintain their independence, and to encourage local communities to care for their residents.

The Fund is intended to reduce the number of persons who consider themselves lonely or socially isolated, and to provide practical help to them to remain in their own community.

We also wish to bring about a reduction in the number of falls suffered by our residents, because these so often lead people to become fearful and to withdraw from social activity.

As lead County Council member for Public Health and Prevention, I am all too aware of the effects of loneliness on health and social care, and that overcoming isolation represents a major challenge especially in a rural county. For those reasons, I welcome this next round of targeted investments by the Innovation Fund.

A few places are still available for the launch and can be booked by following this link: